polaropposites.com: H.S. Anderson Mad Cat Telecaster clone

Updates

11/28/07 - Matteo points out an HS Anderson auction on eBay with lots of info.

11/28/07 - Jens adds the following link:

Check out some Pick üps from Häussel.

http://www.acys-lounge.de/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=62&Itemid=82

You will like it!

Greetz from Germany, Jens

11/27/07 - Jens from Germany emailed the following info about a new Prinz guitar:

I saw The Prinz on your web site.

Hohner made a NEW Model, named Black Prince- and a new Prince-The Artist!!!!

The Pick ups are from Häussel, a german Pick- up Guru.

Have Fun, and thanks for your Pics!

Best regards, Jens
And yes, i want one of this. :-)

http://www.hohner.eu/index.php?1171

11/26/07 - George from the Netherlands e-mailed the following info:

I read the content of your site on hsanderson guitars and am very interested in getting more information about these instruments. In the mid seventies my brother in law purchased a second hand Anderson, wich I own sinds about fifteen years now, model les paul junior; double cutaways, one pick up and a tone and a volume knob. Colour deep chery red. This axe plays like a jet flies and it sounds great with much sustain. Pure simplicity but great tone.

Would you please inform me if you can about sites where more information can be gathered?

Also your personal knowledge will please my hunger to know more about these rare instrument.

By the way, my more ordinary guitars are a John Scofield signature Ibanez and a Martin acoustic.

11/01/07 - Matteo emailed his analysis of Prince's guitar:

After having looked at many pictures of Prince playing his guitar I believe he actually plays the HS Anderson (two different ones to be precise one with black pickups and one with silver ones) rather than the Hohner, as the Hohner’s logo is straight while the guitar Prince plays clearly has a logo that follows the border like the Anderson. Would love to find a Anderson mad Cat.

09/24/07 - Karl wants to trade a '62 Fender Jazzmaster for a Madcat. E-mail me for his info.

09/23/07 - Alexandre in France would like to know if anyone is selling a Madcat. E-mail me for his info.

07/20/07 - Fernie e-mailed me with the following:

You really sold that guitar? Man I wish I had gotten their first. It is so cool.

06/27/07 - Mitsuru Yamazaki from Japan is looking for a Madcat. Email me for his contact info.

01/04/07 - Frank from Australia emailed looking for info. Email me for his contact info:

I have just found your site with the H S Anderson guitars on it.

There seems to be very little information on these guitars on the net but I have recently purchased one and am looking for more information.

The guitar that I bought is an Explorer type guitar with mirror type scratch plate that seems to be made of solid Ash. It has a set neck. It also has the reverse V headstock, much like a Dean.

The H S Anderson decal is Mother of Pearl or some such material and the neck and headstock are both bound in tortoise shell.

Do you know anything about the origins of this type of guitar? I would be pleased for any information that is out there.

09/14/06 - Roger from Australia comments:

Hi, thanks for posting the Mad Cat pics. And the info.

As a Prince fan it is interesting to find out about this guitar, as the actual one he uses with the Hohner headstock spaghetti logo is very elusive.

This actual guitar has now been posted for sale on e-bay, yes the same one, for US$800 to buy. As I don't know the value, and buying on-line you don't really know the true condition, I was hoping you could tell me what price it sold for?

Thanks for your time. I'm in Austarlia, and I don't think I have any chance of finding a Mad Cat out here, maybe a Tasmanian Tiger, but that's something else.

08/26/06 - Carl from Wisconsin tells us about his guitar:

Hi, just aquired a very poorly treated copy of a Gibson Moderne. Rerouted as well as painted a few time. I ran across the logo on the headstock while scraping the paint off. Didnt want to ruin a inlay that might be there. I have never heard of this brand until today and would love any info on the guitar/company. Any place I can get a glimpse of one to see how this looked originally.

08/21/06 - Guillaume from France emailed:

I just have seen your page on the madcat.
I contact you since I have a beautiful guitar of the same brand. It is called "HS ANDERSON - PART II by MORRIS".

Here a little stuff I find on HS Anderson : In the early months of 1978, Vestax began producing guitars. At that time, few of the big Japanese brands known today were able to make quality guitars close to the quality of certain European and North American manufacturers. But with a lot of thought, and experimentation with some new compounds Vestax was
able to come up with some very innovative pieces. Some of which easily surpassed the quality of any other like instrument that had previously come out of Japan. Some of these pieces went on to be collector's items, for there durability and design were second to none. One particular item produced, H.S.Anderson guitars, caused quite an upset at NAMM a few years later and is still today a collector's item cherished by a few of the worlds leading guitarists and song writers, most notably the artist formerly known as Prince.

Do you have know my model "PART II by MORRIS" ?? Do you have some information ?

03/30/06 - Terrie emailed us [pic of Terrie's dad's guitar]:

nice guitar , my father has an original mad cat but it is not flame maple it is birdseye maple throughout the entire guitar

i would love to purchase this guitar!!! these are 2 entirely different guitars,flame,my dads is birdseye,your pickups are white capped my dads are not they are black.but evrything else is the same,attached is a photo of my dads mad cat,

would love to get a response from you. his guitar is a 1974 also the case he has is orange-yellow and it has the h.s.anderson badge on the case.

02/21/06 - Pat emailed the following:

I read somewhere that the company that made the madcat was also the same company that cranked out the hohner that prince uses.
Mass production just a different name on the headstock. Mid to late 70’s. If you search on ebay sometimes you can find a hohner ad for the guitars they release in certain years.
Later on is when hohner released the copy and called it the prinz. I think fender might have got in the pic also about headstock design.

02/02/06 - Alex shared some details:

Howdy. Thought I'd give you some info on the guitar.

From what I've gathered, they were made in the early '70s. Designed by a Japanese guitar maker named H.S. Shino. They were likely manufactured by the Cort factory in Japan.

Later, H.S. Shino/Cort licensed the design to Hohner, the German music company.